Black History Month soliloquy

It's February, a busy time. This month brings us Groundhog Day, Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year, and President's Day. It's also Black History Month, a time to celebrate the many activists, artists, and leaders who fought deeply entrenched discrimination and won rights and liberties for people of color.

A couple years ago, my campus feminist group had dozens of programs planned throughout the year, but nothing for Black History Month. That bothered me, so I decided I could plan activities for the month as an ally. We assembled a panel on women in the civil rights movement, worked with the campus radio station to dedicate a segment to women of color artists, assembled a poster display on Shirley Chisholm, and put table tents in the dining hall spotlighting Carol Mosely-Braun, Dorothy Dandridge, and singer Marian Anderson.

It wasn't flashy, but I was still glad to contribute to Women's Initiative, build ties with campus groups and offices, and raise a little awareness on campus about the accomplishments of American women who had broken racial barriers and risen to the top of their fields. Working with WI gave me an opportunity to give back to the campus community, and gave me small but significant responsibilities I wouldn't have gotten at my job or from my classes. It was my first taste of feminist leadership, and I got hooked.

The point of this was to say Black History Month is great, and feminists around the country can and are contributing to BHM celebrations, whatever their backgrounds. And of course, it's awesome to celebrate women's accomplishments all year long.

Every day is a good day to celebrate groundbreaking leaders like Claudette Colvin, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Shirley Chisholm. We are deeply indebted to these brave women, who protested unjust laws and policies, and slung sledgehammers into political glass ceilings. Every day is a good day to celebrate the authors and poets and singers and academics and artists who dreamed of a better society and stood up for their beliefs through their work and their activism.

When you're organizing around progressive issues, it is easy to feel isolated and ignored, and sometimes we get discouraged. This is what the status quo wants. Black History Month and the programs celebrating our rich American history remind us we are not alone, but instead stand on the shoulders of generations of movers and shakers.

We'd love to hear how your feminist groups are commemorating Black History Month! If you want to bounce ideas or brag about your group, comment below or drop us a line at campusteam@feminist.org :D

This article was featured in our February 2010 monthly Choices eZine. Sign up for our alerts to stay up-to-date with the latest feminist news and to receive the monthly eZine.

Never Request Permission to Start a Revolution: 50 Years Since Greensboro

A core principle of organizing that is often repeated here at FMF is that you only need five people to start a movement. 50 years ago today, four young men in Greensboro, NC proved that you don't even need that many.

On February 1, 1960, four students from North Carolina A&T, a historically black college in Greensboro, sat at a whites-only Woolworth's lunch counter. They were refused service but stayed seated, nervous but resolute. The four young men stayed until the store closed that day and returned to campus, where they recruited more students to join their protest. The next day, twenty five students sat at Woolworth's. By February 4th, 300 students were gathering, and a group returned everyday for weeks after.

The protests were considered radical. Franklin McCain, one of the four original student protesters, recalled to CNN, "We had talked to several students about this fractured and unequal democracy and what we wanted to do about it and, quite honestly, most people thought we were crazy." But their goal was just, and those doubts could not stand in their way. As he says, "Never request permission to start a revolution."

As news of the sit-ins got out, they spread to other states, with protesters sitting at lunch counters across the South. The protesters were peaceful, even in the face of jeering crowds hurling insults, food, or worse. Store managers attempted to close their stores for the day, only to have the protesters return again and again.

Joseph McNeill, one of the Greensboro Four, remembers, "For the most part, we were too angry to be too fearful. The heckling and all those things were a concern, but I think it made us stronger for the process. The fact that you could get people to go back into harm's way day after day and take physical abuse and verbal abuse is a testament to the fact that we were responding on solid principles and morals."

The sit-in movement injected fresh energy into the civil rights movement, and led directly to the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in May 1960. SNCC's direct action approach when it came to integration and voter registration would define the movement in the early 60s.

As Ella Baker, a veteran civil rights organizer and adviser to SNCC, wrote in her landmark essay Bigger than a Hamburger, "Whatever may be the difference in approach to their goal, the Negro and white students, North and South, are seeking to rid America of the scourge of racial segregation and discrimination — not only at lunch counters, but in every aspect of life. ... By and large, this feeling that they have a destined date with freedom, was not limited to a drive for personal freedom, or even freedom for the Negro in the South. Repeatedly it was emphasized that the movement was concerned with the moral implications of racial discrimination for the 'whole world' and the 'Human Race.'"

Today, we honor the legacy of Ezell A. Blair Jr., David Richmond, Joseph McNeil, and Franklin McCain, and remember that even the smallest acts--sitting at a lunch counter, refusing to move to the back of the bus, registering to vote, challenging and questioning the status quo--can be revolutionary.

This article was featured in our February 2010 monthly Choices eZine. Sign up for our alerts to stay up-to-date with the latest feminist news and to receive the monthly eZine.

Black HERstory Month

During the month of February, many activities and events are planned to celebrate the histories or herstories and cultures of people of African descent. How can you participate? Want to put on an event, but fresh out of ideas? Well have no fear! Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

• Host weekly screenings of films or documentaries about, directed & written by and starring people of African descent such as: NO! The Rape Documentary; Chisolm ’72: Unbought and Unbossed; You Have Struck a Rock; Unchained Memories: Readings of the Slave Narratives

• Collaborate with your campus Black Student Alliance, Multicultural Center or other multicultural groups in planning your event

• Host a Libations Ceremony to pay homage for past sheroes and heroes of African descent who have contributed greatly to our world

• Celebrate the diversity in cultures and music throughout the African Diaspora by hosting a luncheon that exhibits the various cuisines and entertainment of the Afro-Caribbean, African, African American, and Afro-Latino heritage

• Invite a local or campus cultural theater troupe to perform or host an open mic/spoken word or poetry slam competition

• Launch a flyer campaign to recognize prominent historical and modern-day Black feminists

• Host a panel forum to discuss Black women’s history and involvement in the women’s movement

• Incorporate Black HERstory Month in your annual Vagina Monologues event

Remember, Black HERstory Month is a time to acknowledge the achievements and contributions made by people of color to the rest of the world. So let’s take this time to recognize all our sisters in the struggle. HAPPY BLACK HERSTORY MONTH!!